Anyone Seen My Self-Esteem?

Guess who’s celebrating his/her (in a politically correct, non-sexism way) 50th birthday?

You guessed right - non other than my (or shall I say "our" in a more Malaysian way?) country - Malaysia. Come 31st August 2007, Malaysia will celebrate it’s 50th year of independence. But let’s focus on 6 days from now, when Malaysia will officially launch the ‘Visit Malaysia 2007 Campaign’.

http://www.vmcc.com.my/

"Experience Malaysia’s sights and sounds for yourself and don’t just see what WE say, read or watch what some of our visitors say about Malaysia!

Malaysia is celebrating it’s 50th birthday in 2007 and plans to party all year round! "

Excited? Anxious? Not knowing what to feel? I’m sure millions of Malaysians out there are preparing their widest smiles, friendliest attitude, and of course, yummiest cuisine, for the highly anticipated (and also feared by some - who’s not afraid that tourists will think badly of us for having Mat Rempits, reckless drivers, greedy cabbies.. get my point?) ‘Visit Malaysia 2007′. But before I go any further, it is better for us to get to know our mid-century old country - Malaysia.

(Sources from - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysia)

"Malaysia’s population is comprised of many ethnic groups, with the politically dominant Malays making up the majority, close to 60% of the population. By constitutional definition, all Malays are Muslim. About 30% of the population are Malaysians of Chinese descent, who have historically played an important role in trade and business. Malaysians of Indian descent comprise about 8% of the population. About 90% of the Indian community is Tamil but various other groups are also present, including Malayalis, Punjabis and Gujaratis.

Non-Malay indigenous groups make up more than half of the state of Sarawak’s population, constitute about 66% of Sabah’s population, and also exist in much smaller numbers on the Peninsula, where they are collectively called Orang Asli. The non-Malay indigenous population is divided into dozens of ethnic groups, but they share some general cultural similarities. Other Malaysians also include those of, inter alia, European, Middle Eastern, Cambodian, and Vietnamese descent. Europeans and Eurasians include British who colonized and settled in Malaysia and some Portuguese, and most of the Middle Easterners are Arabs. A small number of Kampucheans and Vietnamese settled in Malaysia as Vietnam War refugees. Population distribution is uneven, with some 20 million residents concentrated on the Malay Peninsula.

Malaysia is a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multilingual society, consisting of 65% Malays and other indigenous tribes, 25% Chinese, 7% Indians. The Malays, which form the largest community, are all Muslims since one has to be Muslim to be legally Malay under Malaysian law. The Malays play a dominant role politically and are included in a grouping identified as bumiputra. Their native language is Malay (Bahasa Melayu). Malay is the national language of the country.^[38]

The Chinese population in Malaysia is mostly Buddhist (of Mahayana sect), Taoist or Christian. Chinese in Malaysia speak a variety of Chinese dialects including Mandarin Chinese, Hokkien/Fujian, Cantonese, Hakka and Teochew. Many Chinese in Malaysia also speak English as a first language. Chinese have historically been dominant in the Malaysian business community.

The Indians in Malaysia are mainly Hindu Tamils from southern India, speaking Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Hindi, living mainly in the larger towns on the west coast of the peninsula. Many middle to upper-middle class Indians in Malaysia also speak English as a first language. There is also a sizeable Sikh community in Malaysia of over 83,000.

Eurasians, Cambodians, Vietnamese, and indigenous tribes make up the remaining population. A small number of Eurasians, of mixed Portuguese and Malay descent, speak a Portuguese-based creole, called Papiá Kristang. There are also Eurasians of mixed Malay and Spanish descent, mostly in Sabah. Descended from immigrants from the Philippines, some speak Chavacano, the only Spanish-based creole language in Asia. Cambodians and Vietnamese are mostly Buddhists (Cambodians of Theravada sect and Vietnamese, Mahayana sect).

Malaysian traditional music is heavily influenced by Chinese and Islamic forms. The music is based largely around the gendang (drum), but includes other percussion instruments (some made of shells); the rebab, a bowed string instrument; the serunai, a double-reed oboe-like instrument; flutes, and trumpets. The country has a strong tradition of dance and dance dramas, some of Thai, Indian and Portuguese origin. Other artistic forms include wayang kulit (shadow puppet theatre), silat (a stylised martial art) and crafts such as batik, weaving, and silver and brasswork.

Despite most of the festivals are identified with a particular ethnic or religion, all Malaysians celebrate the festivities together regardless of their religions and ethnic background. For years 1996-1998, when Hari Raya Puasa and Chinese New Year coincided, a slogan Kongsi Raya, a combination of Gong Xi Fa Cai, a greeting used on the Chinese New Year, and Hari Raya (which could also mean "celebrating together" in Malay language) was coined. For years 2005-2006, the Hari Raya Puasa and Deepavali coincide, and a slogan Deepa Raya is similarly coined."

Hope that crash-course in ‘Get to Know Malaysia in 30 minutes’ will help all my fellow Malaysian friends to start telling the whole world to come and experience like no other, the Malaysia that is Truly Asia

07:45:03 pm, 26/12/2006

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